littleBits Makes Coding Fun Through First-Ever Game-Based Code Kit

“Every maker of video games knows something that the makers of
curriculum don't seem to understand. You'll never see a video game being
advertised as being easy. Kids who do not like school will tell you it's
not because it's too hard. It's because it's--boring.” -- Seymour Papert
(1928-2016)

March 07, 2017 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NEW YORK--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--littleBits, the technology startup that makes it easy and fun to invent
with electronics, announces today the next addition to its education
portfolio -- the littleBits Code Kit. The concept is simple:
Build games. Learn to code.

“25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American
Dream”

Students will learn the foundations of coding & engineering by building
hands-on games with electronic building blocks and coding them using
block programming based on Google’s Blockly on the littleBits Code Kit
app. The ideals of educational visionary Seymour Papert and MIT’s
Lifelong Kindergarten have inspired littleBits from its inception.
Following the success of the littleBits STEAM Student Set, the company
set out on an 18-month journey to bring these ideas around fun in
education to a new and critical area: coding. The result is a kit
designed around games that students get to code & build themselves.

“We have seen that the combination of games with the tactile experience
of littleBits makes for an incredible experience,” said Ayah Bdeir,
founder and CEO of littleBits. “Kids are hyper-engaged, and it’s because
they are building something that they actually want to play with. What’s
more is that students are not just learning how to code. They’re
collaborating and problem-solving while they’re having fun.”

The game-based design of the kit is supported by resources to make it
easy for educators, even those without computer science experience, to
teach coding right out of the box. A 12-member educator advisory board
helped create the curriculum making the littleBits Code Kit an
education product designed for teachers, with teachers.

Quick start guides for students and educators, a Bit index, and a
classroom poster to make it easy to get started right out of the box

An interactive online teacher’s guide that will allow educators to
import lessons directly into Google Docs

16 Bits including the all-new codeBit and LED Matrix

A rechargeable battery & 30 accessories

The littleBits Code Kit app that features approachable
drag-and-drop block programming based on Google’s Blockly

“littleBits has become an essential tool for empowering students to
think critically and creatively while still having fun in and out of the
classroom. They are challenged to question, shape and change the world
through innovation," said Lesa Wang, Visual Arts Teacher & STEAM
Integrator, Marymount School of New York in New York City. "This new kit
makes a complex subject like coding more accessible through the fun of
games, and it gets students to think about ways coding can help solve
other problems.”

littleBits is accepting purchase orders on the littleBits Code Kit
starting today and will be sold through education product retailers for
$299.95. Visit littlebits.cc/code-kit for more information.

littleBits is the New York-based hardware startup that is empowering
kids everywhere to become inventors. Through its innovative platform of
easy-to-use electronic building blocks, littleBits allows anyone to
create and prototype with electronics, independent of age, gender or
technical ability. As the leader in STEM/STEAM learning, littleBits
believes in self-directed exploration and driving excitement for what it
calls “invention-based learning,” a concept evolved from project-based
learning, which is a trusted and proven approach to teaching in
classrooms. The company is also dedicated to successfully bridging the
gender gap with its gender-neutral platform, attracting 30-40 percent of
young girls to invent with littleBits. By embracing STEAM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), both girls and boys can
invent solutions to the problems that matter to them. littleBits has
received several awards
including CNN’s “Top 10 Startups to Watch” and one of the CNBC Next
List. littleBits is sold in over 150 countries and used by more than
12,000 educators across the world as an engaging tool for making STEAM
more accessible to all students and preparing them for the jobs that
haven’t been invented yet. For more information and inspiration, please
visit http://www.littlebits.cc/about.

The company was founded in 2011 by MIT Graduate, TED Senior Fellow and
Cofounder of the Open Hardware Summit, Ayah Bdeir, and has grown to be a
global leader in hardware. Bdeir was named one of Fast Company’s Most
Creative People in Business, one of Inc.’s “35 Under 35” and
"Entrepreneurs to Watch," one of Entrepreneur's "10 Leaders to Watch,"
one of Popular Mechanics’ “25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American
Dream,” and one of MIT Technology Review’s “35 Innovators Under 35.”